Event Speakers

Cllr Tony Dyer, Bristol

Leader of Bristol City Council

Tony was born and raised in Bristol, coming from a working class background and growing up in a deprived area of the city. A Bristol Councillor since 2021, he was elected as the city’s political figurehead in May 2024, becoming the first leader of a UK Core City with a majority of Green Party councillors. In his role he represents the interests of the council at a community, regional, national and international level.

Tony feels strongly that economic development in a city must be accessible to all citizens, and he understands clearly how international engagement must lead to opportunity for all parts of the city. He brings expertise in local government financing, housing, and urban planning to the role, and he has lived and worked abroad including in Barcelona, Milan and Seattle.

Alex Hearn, Bristol

Director Economy of Place, Bristol City Council

Alex is a sociologist, a generalist and a proud public planner. He’s worked in regeneration for over twenty years, largely in London but now in the Bristol region since 2018. He’s played the role of the policymaker, the planner, the resident association chair, the landowner, the developer and the investor. He joined Bristol City Council as the Director of Economy of Place in 2023 with responsibility for planning, climate, transport, culture, economic development and regeneration.

Heidi Johansson, Helsinki

PR Manager, Helsinki Partners

Heidi works as PR Manager at Helsinki Partners; a city marketing, investment, and talent attraction company owned by the City of Helsinki.

Born in Vaasa on the west coast of Finland, she has now called Helsinki home for a quarter of a century. Heidi studied Literature at the University of Helsinki, with a minor in Intercultural Encounters. As a certified Helsinki guide, she is working daily with different ways of narrating a city to the international journalists, influencers, and delegations that visit Helsinki. Please come talk to this cosmopolitan Helsinkian in Finnish, Swedish, English, French, or Spanish – she would love to meet you!

Irene Manzini Ceinar, Reggio Emilia

Director Participation Policy Department, Municipality of Reggio Emilia

Irene is an urban researcher with a background in architecture and urban design. She graduated in Architecture from Politecnico di Milano where she co-founded the Presidio Temporaneo di Architettura. Irene holds a Master’s degree in Architecture and Urban Design and a Master of Research in Interdisciplinary Urban Design from UCL. 

Her career includes research roles at Politecnico di Milano, UCL, and London South Bank University, alongside consultancy work at AR Urbanism. Irene's PhD research focused on community and workspaces as social infrastructure, conducted at UCL and Yale. Last year she started a collaboration with the Participation Policy Service of the Municipality of Reggio Emilia, working with LUISS Guido Carli University as a Research Associate at the City Science Office applied research unit.

Robert Seitovirta, Helsinki

Head of Unit, Oodi Helsinki Central Library

Robert is a literature and library enthusiast with a background in academic research and managerial expertise from libraries and the Finnish book market. He’s passionate about digital transformation, community-oriented organizing, makerspaces and knowledge-driven leadership. He’s also fluent in Finnish, German, English and Swedish.